Luxury and premium manufacturers used to think it was sufficient to just stretch a model specially for China. Locally manufactured versions of the Audi A4 and A6, BMW 3 and 5 series, along with the Mercedes C and E Classes, all gain long wheelbases. There was also the idea that catering to the Chinese market meant creating a dragon-themed special edition. This reached fever pitch in 2012, which was a dragon year in the Chinese zodiac, with cars such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom Year of the Dragon edition and the Aston Martin Dragon 88 — the latter was limited to 88 (eight being a lucky number in China).

“They only added a Chinese element on their car, such as a dragon theme,” Zhou Jingzhe, Director, China and Korea at IHS Automotive Advisory, tells GN Focus. “The cheaper way doesn’t make a car look better; it only makes the buyer of such cars look like a parvenu.”

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